Disciples of The Necromancer
'' Three foreboding figures stand before you, and you have the unsettling realization that these powerful beings are still mere students compared to their master.'' While the Necromancer had many followers, there was a group of six disciples who were his most devoted, trusted and useful servants. All were liches, and their function to the Necromancer was similar to that of an apostle: they were ambassadors and messengers, though each possessed their own unique talents, making some more apt for certain tasks than others. The seventh "disciple", the cursed spirit of Prince Bytor sealed in the form of a graveknight, was not of the same caliber of the other six, and was often omitted from their ranks. The First The First, the oldest of the group, has his eyes and mouth stitched together, the latter into a permanent knowing grin, and speaks via telepathy. He was originally a human man who survived the apocalypse and joined the Necromancer amid the still-burning ruins of Laurasia. The diplomat of the group, he has potent mastery over words and is both incredibly knowledgable and conversational, often tasked with delivering the word of his master. A canny illusionist, he has also been seen to summon powerful cold magics, and has wielded both a broadsword and gun. The First claimed himself to be the essence of sloth; despite being very active in his undeath, he admits to being too slow to action in his life, and laments that many things were destroyed due to this. The First fought against the Pathfinders at the Battle of Willowdale, riding at different times a nightmare and a Dominated green dragon. When he met with the Pathfinders to parley, he stated that his intention in the battle was to seek retribution against those who had traspassed in his master's domain; he wished the guilty parties to relinquish themselves to him, and his force would leave the battle. When the Pathfinders refused his terms, his undead forces aided the hobgoblins' assault on the wall. The First's body was destroyed during a climactic confrontation, but his phylactery remained hidden elsewhere; his draconic mount fled the battle after being freed from the spell that controlled it. Kat cultivated a friendship with the First, which began during the Battle of Willowdale. The two played rock paper scissors, and the First claimed to be intrigued by the halfling and promised that no harm would come to her. Saddened at his defeat, but reinvigorated at the news that liches regenerate, Kat claimed the sword that he had used during the war and proceeded to return it to him personally at the Bone Ziggurat. The First thanked her for returning it and gave her a large lacquered box of sweets in return. He also warned her against visiting the ziggurat at night. Kat gave the First an open invitation to visit her castle anytime he wishes, and as such, she has facilitated visits between the First and several of the Pathfinders on multiple occasions, both at her castle and in the ziggurat itself. When Kat formally declared herself as seperate from the Pathfinders, the First offered her to come and live with him. She originally accepted, but balked when he told her she couldn't ever leave him again; he became increasingly frustrated at this time, but it is unknown whether it was due to Kat's timid deferral or Ru's emotional backtalk. When the Pathfinders entered the Bone Ziggurat to face the Disciples and the Necromancer for better or worse, they found the First confined to his room, stripped of his spellbook. He spoke to them earnestly: when the group of Pathfinders had been captured, before they were sold to Char Nassed, he had gone through their belongings and had drank of the Potion of Memory. With the memories of the many things he had done over his extensive existance renewed, he found himself with regret; the other disciples keyed on his hesitation, and removed him to his room so that he would not interfere with them. While the First could not act against his master directly, he openly renounced the Necromancer, and gave the Pathfinders as much guidance as he was able. When they fought the Necromancer himself, the First stood by, watching silently; he escaped with the heroes when the tower crumbled in the wake of the Necromancer's demise. He thanked the Pathfinders for their deeds, especially Kat, to whom he gave his phylactery, and left quietly into the jungle. Kat decided to follow him, and the two began a new journey together. The Second The Second was a silent lich who wore a funeral shroud over her face, and wielded a recurve bow. She was once an elven woman who lived roughly a hundred years after the apocalypse in the ruins of civilization before she joined the Necromancer. A game hunter of the highest caliber, the Pathfinders knew very little of her demeanor save what they saw of her in battle and what was mentioned to them by the First. According to him, she had tired of paltry game even before she began her unlife, continually looking for bigger and better game; her search eventually led her to human prey. Her continual drive to hunt bigger, smarter, powerful creatures for sport made her the essence of greed. During the Battle of Willowdale, the Second arrived riding a wyvern, which was blinded by Erevis and then subsequently slain by Alejandra. With her mount destroyed, the lich opted to escape using teleportation magic. The Second was found, along with the Third, protecting the Fane of the Necromancer. When Rinzler flew the ornithopter solo over the Western Rainforest, he encountered the Second along with two subordinates scouting the area on wyverns. Though she and her wingmen followed him for a time, they eventually peeled off and left him be. When the gem mine was left in ruins and the Sixth eliminated, the Second, along with the Fourth, arrived to deal with damage control. She fired a deadly arrow before the Pathfinders managed to teleport away. In the throne room of the Bone Ziggurat, the Second fought with the other disciples in order to defeat the Pathfinders once and for all. Though she rained enhanced arrows upon them all, she was eventually felled by Gorgoroth's blade. The Third The Third wielded a spiked chain and commanded various fire magics, and was the first of the Disciples to be encountered by the Pathfinders. He was by far the loudest and cockiest of the disciples, all too willing to boast about himself and his abilities. He took maniacal joy in combative victory, or perhaps just victory overall. He was a general in the God-Emperor's army when he joined the Necromancer, about 1800 years ago. After his first encounter with the Pathfinders, he was seen in the possession some form of enchanted gemstone-like eyes, possibly as a result of being blinded by Erevis in their first encounter. The Third's bravado belied a jealous hatred for nearly everyone he met, causing the First to refer to him as the essence of envy. Shortly after the omen, the Third was encountered at the ruins of Ur-Nahash, a school that he infiltrated and taught at in the Dead Canyons. It was at these ruins that he revealed that he was at least partially responsible for the nightmares in town, that he was the first of many, and that he served The Necromancer. While the Pathfinders managed to defeat him that day, his phylactery was not destroyed, and he was subsequently found fully restored in the house of his master. He quite enjoyed proclaiming about his time at Ur-Nahash; he was undoubtedly involved in its destruction. The Third appeared at the Battle of Willowdale, but left unnanounced in the midst of battle due to overwhelming boredom. The Third was found, along with the Second, guarding the Fane of the Necromancer. He was disappointed in the composition of the group of Pathfinders who found him there, but that didn't stop him from trying to kill them all. He later visited them briefly while they were captured and about to be tortured for information, mainly to gloat, sigh that the ones he really wanted to kill still weren't around, and proclaim that if he had any say in the matter, their corpses would already be walking towards Willowdale. In the throne room of the Bone Ziggurat, the Third fought with the other disciples in order to defeat the Pathfinders once and for all. He addressed them all when they entered, setting the tone for the battle, then lept headlong into the fray. He used a powerful Prismatic Spray spell, petrifying both Erevis and Zuni, but his aggressive tactics were met in kind, and he was swiftly felled by Gorgoroth's sword. The Fourth The Fourth was an imposing creature, standing seven feet tall and bearing more muscles than naturally possible. He wore armour and carried a cruel mace and tower shield. Originally a barbarian warpriest a millenia ago, cleric of a god even he has forgotten, the Fourth then served only his current god and lord, the Necromancer. A philosopher and religious being of great will, his convictions as a holy man were readily apparent. He was the high preist of the Blackened Sun, and was for an extensive period of time; he wrote the majority of the scriptures followed by the group. His insatiable desire for more souls in his flock, at his command, made him, to the First, the essence of gluttony. When the Pathfinders met him in the Elder Wizard's Cube, he refrained from attacking them only out of respect for the First, though he said he would enjoy nothing more than testing them in combat. Halstein, impressed at the amount of "cheating" the lich had done to stack the battle odds in his favour, challenged him to single combat, after he had finished fighting Arcade; the Fourth readily accepted. The Fourth, along with the Fifth, were encountered in the Fane of the Necromancer. He incapacitated and demanded the surrender of the Pathfinders present, though he did keep his word that none of the surrendered would be killed or robbed. The Fourth was part of the assault group that burned the town of Willowdale nearly to the ground on the eve of the Necromancer's destruction. When the Pathfinders arrived, he guarded the rear of the forces, giving the other liches time to escape. Halstein was not about to merely let him leave; with the help of a few well-placed bullets from Rinzler, Halstein cut down the lich, who in his last moments promised that they would have a true fight soon. In the throne room of the Bone Ziggurat, the Fourth fought with the other disciples in order to defeat the Pathfinders once and for all. He fought powerfully against his foes, using magic and might in equal measure, though it was not to be enough. His weapon was destroyed through the confused efforts of a mind-controlled ecorche, and he was eventually destroyed by Erevis' magic. The Fifth The Fifth was a half-orc lich, only a few centuries old. When first met, it took some cajoling before he eventually identified himself as such, as he cared little for "those numbers that the others use in their power games." He appeared utterly amoral, and far more interested in the results of his scientific studies then in any political or religious ties. Despite this, he was by no means unemotional: he appeared to have a strong hatred of both orcs and elves, and Rinzler in particular invoked in him unadulterated loathing. When still alive, he was exiled and thrown from a waterfall by his tribe three hundred years past, and the Necromancer was waiting at the bottom for him and his undying service. His scorn and hatred for all made him, to the First, the essence of wrath. The Fifth was encountered along with the Fourth in the Fane of the Necromancer, where a group of Pathfinders was taken hostage. He "tortured" them for information, but thanks to the loose lips of those involved, he did nothing more then coldly threaten and make a cut in Rinzler's forehead. The Fifth was tasked to be the advisor and alchemist to the Orc King, for whom he created the orogs, orc-ogre crossbreeds, among other genetic monstrosities. When the Pathfinders arrived in the Orc Fortress and Gorgoroth challenged his father to single combat, the Fifth called a chimera with five dragon heads of all chromatic colours to fight in the Warchief's stead. He further attacked the Pathfinders when Gorgoroth later challenged the king himself, shooting at them from safety while invisible. Rinzler taunted him relentlessly, goading him out of his cover; though Rinzler was shot viciously to death, it gave the others an opportunity to attack him with positive magics. As his lifeless corpse fell, a huge bomb hidden in his chest cavity was revealed and detonated, obliterating the body and everything it possessed, save for his gun which Rinzler claimed as his own. The Fifth was part of the assault group that burned the town of Willowdale nearly to the ground on the eve of the Necromancer's destruction. When the Pathfinders arrived, he teleported away almost directly, though he left a note from the disciples informing the Pathfinders to surrender themselves to the Ziggurat. In the throne room of the Bone Ziggurat, the Fifth fought with the other disciples in order to defeat the Pathfinders once and for all. With his gun gone, he used a sort of crossbow to fire his explosives, and drank a variety of infusions to enhance his abilities and rage. He and Rinzler targeted each other almost exclusively, but it was Rinzler who stood victorious at the end. However, when Rinzler claimed the armour and possessions of the Fifth, he found a note in a pocket addressed to him; inside was a string of six different curses, giving the Fifth a last laugh. The Sixth The Sixth was the youngest of the Disciples, and the most humanoid in appearance, appearing to be an incredibly beautiful grey-skinned half-elf with black hair. A singer, dancer, and self-described geisha, she was once a woman named Lady Lucia D'Tilmarent, known as "The Songbird of Laurasia" or "The Nightingale". She was an incredibly famous starlet fifty years ago, but went mysteriously missing from New Luxberg to the shock of many. Her fate was unknown until the Pathfinders discovered that she had been kidnapped by the liches to become the Sixth. While her initial reaction to this kidnapping is unclear, she has since wholeheartedly accepted the transformation into a lich as a means to acquire eternal beauty, power, and renown. On being shown her entire life and unlife with the Potion of Memory, she declared she would do it all again. For obvious reasons, the First labelled her the essence of lust. The Sixth was encountered by the Pathfinders in the Gem Mines, which she appeared to oversee. In her private chambers there, the Pathfinders found a bath full of blood; it appears that she regularly bathes in the blood of young women - preferably virgins - in order to maintain her beauty. Three young women of varying races were rescued from this likely fate. The Sixth was part of the assault group that burned the town of Willowdale nearly to the ground on the eve of the Necromancer's destruction. Though she was caught in a gaseous spell of Erevis', she still managed to teleport away with great speed. In the throne room of the Bone Ziggurat, the Sixth fought with the other disciples in order to defeat the Pathfinders once and for all. She was slowest to rise from the table, preferring to let the battle come to her. Ru attacked her with a passion, and with the benefit of an invisibility spell, managed to eventually stab her to destruction. The Seventh Prince Bytor, cursed and sealed in the form of a graveknight, was sometimes referred to as the Seventh, though he was obviously not on the same level as the other six. Mindless to a degree, he was a weapon kept sealed in the basement of the Bone Ziggurat until called to battle by one of the other disciples. Bytor was freed from this fate by the Pathfinders, who managed to coerce him into the sunlight with a lot of running, shoving and grappling. The First referred to the Seventh as the essence of pride, as hubris proved to be the downfall of Bytor when he first challenged the Necromancer. Category:Villain Category:NPC